Strasbourg - European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering on Monday condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's speech at the UN racism conference as "unacceptable" and coupled it with a warning about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Poettering said "The European Union and the international community must decisively condemn these statements and work with determination to ensure an Israel in safe borders and a Palestinian State in safe borders can live in peace together."

He went on to say that the international community was working towards a peaceful and lasting solution in the Middle East and that neither the existence and recognition of Israel nor the recogntion of a Palestinian state can be called into question.

"The words against Israel by the Iranian President are a danger to such a process and are unacceptable. The European Parliament will always condemn any statement or act against peace and the peaceful coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East," Poettering said.

His statement concluded: "Nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian head of state would be a danger for the Middle East and the World." (dpa)